Pudong—literally "The East Bank of the Huangpu River"—originally referred only to the less-developed land across from Shanghai's Old City and foreign concessions. The area was mainly farmland and only slowly developed, with warehouses and wharfs near the shore administered by the districts of Puxi on the west bank: Huangpu, Yangpu, and Nanshi. Pudong was originally established as a county in 1958 until 1961 which the county was split among Huangpu, Yangpu, Nanshi, Wusong and Chuansha County. In October 1, 1992 the original area of Pudong County and Chuansha County merged and established Pudong New Area.

In 1993, the Chinese government set up a Special Economic Zone in Chuansha, creating the Pudong New Area. The western tip of the Pudong district was designated as the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone and has become a financial hub of modern China. Several landmark buildings were constructed, including the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Building, and the supertall Shanghai World Financial Center 494 m (1,621 ft) and Shanghai Tower (projected to reach 565.6 m or 1,856 ft). These buildings—all along Century Avenue and visible from the historic Bund—now form the most common skyline of Shanghai.

On May 6, 2009, it was disclosed that the State Council had approved the proposal to merge Nanhui District with Pudong and comprise the majority of eastern Shanghai. In 2010, Pudong was host to the main venues of the Shanghai Expo, whose grounds now form a public park.

Districts of the direct-controlled municipality of Shanghai are administratively on the same level as prefecture-level cities. However, the government of Pudong has a status equivalent to that of a sub-provincial city, which is a half-level above a prefecture-level city. This is due to Pudong's size and importance as the financial hub of China. The Pudong Communist Party Secretary is the top office of the district, followed by the district governor of Pudong. The Pudong party chief is customarily also a member of the Shanghai Party Standing Committee.

On April 27, 2015, People's Government of Pudong New Area is working with China (Shanghai) Pilot Free-Trade Zone Administrative Committee.[2]

Pudong literally means "East Bank". Pudong is bounded by the Huangpu River in the west and the East China Sea in the east. Pudong is distinguished from Puxi ("West Bank"), the older part of Shanghai. It has an area of 1,210.4 square kilometres (467.3 sq mi) and according to the 2010 Census, a population of 5,044,430 inhabitants, 1.9 million more than in 2000. Currently, at least 2.1 million of residents of Pudong are newcomers from other provinces or cities in China.[3]

Pudong is the most populous district in Shanghai. According to the 2010 Census, it has 5,044,430 people in 1,814,802 families, around 1/4 of Shanghai's total population, an explosive growth since the last census thanks to immigrants.[4] Pudong's resident population growth is well above national average because it is a popular immigration destination. The 2010 census shows a 58.26% increase in the last decade, or an annual pace of 4.7%. In particular, the district saw am immigration growth of 189.5%, or an annual pace of 11.22%.

Excluding immigrants, the birth rate is 0.806% while the death rate is 0.729, resulting a net growth of 0.077%. The total fertility rate is 1.03, well below the replacement level.[5] The district actually has a negative registered household population growth if immigrants are excluded, thus the growth is purely driven by immigration.

The 2010 Census shows a population density of 3,909/km2. About 3/4 of the population live in the northern part and part of city center called "Northern Territory". 1/4 live in the "Southern Territory" that was the Nanhui District. The Northern Territory has a 6,667 population density, while the Southern Territory has 1,732/km2. Suburbs saw a greater increase in population during 2000-2010 with the help of the city's suburb expansion policy. Some counties in the traditional city center saw a population decrease.

With the Nanhui District merger in May 2009, the size of Pudong's economy grew. The district's 2015 gross domestic product amounts to an estimated 789.8 billion RMB (~US$113.5 billion), with services comprising 70% of economic output.[14] Its GDP per capita is approximately $21,911. The area is divided into four distinct economic districts. Apart from Lujiazui Trade and Finance Zone, there is Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, the largest free trade zone in mainland China covering approximately 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) in north-east Pudong. The Jinqiao Export Processing Zone is another major industrial area in Pudong covering 19 square kilometres (7.3 sq mi) Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park is a special area for technology-oriented businesses.

The Pudong area continues to experience rapid development, especially in the commercial sector, with 1.3 million square meters of prime office space reaching completion in 2008, more than the previous two years combined.[15] Pudong has also attracted considerable fixed asset and real estate investment, reporting 87.268 billion RMB in fixed asset investment and 27.997 billion RMB in real estate investment in 2008.[16]

In the same year, Line 2 of the Shanghai Metro commenced services. An extension brought the line further east, where it serves the airport. Other lines, namely Lines 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 16 also have sections that serve parts of Pudong. A magnetic levitation train began operating in 2004, moving passengers between the airport and Longyang Road Metro station.

Ships on the Huangpu River with Pudong in view

Pudong is connected to Puxi by several tunnels and four major bridges. The first of these bridges were the Nanpu Bridge (1991) and the Yangpu Bridge (1993). The Xupu Bridge opened in 1996. The latest of these is Lupu Bridge, which is the world's second longest arch bridge and was completed in 2002. Currently there are five tunnels that link the two sides, Dapu Rd. Tunnel, the first tunnel across the Huangpu River, Yan'an Rd. Tunnel, running east-west, and Dalian Rd. Tunnel, running north-south, Fuxing Rd. Tunnel, complementing the Yan'an Rd. Tunnel, Waihuan Tunnel, one part of Shanghai Outer Ring Express. Two new tunnels linking Lujiazui to Puxi are under construction.

Roads in Pudong have no particular longitudinal or latitudinal orientation. Major thoroughfares Pudong Avenue, Zhangyang Road and Yanggao Road run east-west until Yangpu Bridge before turning gradually to become north-south. Century Avenue crosses all three major roads and extends from Lujiazui to Century Park. Yanggao Road extends south to the A20, Shanghai's outer Ring road, which runs east-west from Xupu Bridge and then north-south beginning at the interchange near Renxi Village, when the east-west expressway turns into Yingbin Avenue, headed for Pudong International Airport.

^Census Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China; Population and Employment Statistics Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China (2012). 中国2010人口普查分乡、镇、街道资料 (1 ed.). Beijing: China Statistics Print. ISBN978-7-5037-6660-2.